What do you think of when you think of massage chairs? Depressing-looking things in motorway service stations, perhaps?
Pod Wellness aims to change that. It’s a new concept in massage facilities – a massage studio equipped with the very latest in massage chair technology. The “pods” are state of the art massage chairs that incorporate multiple roller and air bag technology. They have a range of specialist programmes designed to ease tension, work stress areas or simply relax you – whatever it is that you’re after.
I paid a visit to their beautiful massage studio, nestled in the historic Brighton Lanes. Pod Wellness have a website that you can book a slot through but they also encourage walk-ins. A Pod Wellness massage can be as quick as twenty minutes, for as little as £20.00. The same way that we pop into the high street for a cup of coffee, we can pop in for a massage.
“Our whole goal of what we are trying to create is this concept of high-street well-being. So the idea that you can access a well-being offer that is both physically and mentally beneficial, but at the same time is super convenient and affordable,” says Alex Collinson, founder of Pod Wellness.
For Alex, the customer’s experience is “a key component of what we do…despite being affordable, you can still make that experience stellar and outstanding. We do everything for the customer, they don’t have to press any buttons. Once the headphones are on and the eye mask, they should just be able to completely relax.”
And relax I do! After consulting with one of Alex’s friendly team, I chose two programmes – first, the ‘SCRUFF’ programme that targets the neck and shoulders and second, the ‘Elevate” programme that’s a full body deep tissue massage, designed to ease tension and uplift body and mind.
The results were fantastic – combined with the sound-cancelling headphones playing meditative music and an LED eye mask, it was truly an immersive experience. I felt that I was not in a massage chair in Brighton, but in a massage cocoon in Pod Land. The SCRUFF programme really felt like it was working on my knots, tension and niggly bits. The Elevate programme was perfect to wind me down afterwards but simultaneously uplifting and invigorating.
I left feeling rejuvenated, and remembering something that Alex had told me: “the feedback that we have – people feel physically and mentally transformed after the experience.” I couldn’t agree more. I know that I’ll definitely be back to feel transformed again.
